by: Alina Bartasheva
The beginning of December and the conclusion of the fall semester brings a lot of stress and anxiety for students. Trying to keep your grades up by staying on top of all assignments while balancing studying and possibly work and extra curricular responsibilities is extremely challenging. Luckily, there are ways to balance the workload in order to make this stressful period of time more manageable.
The main issue that is taking over the daily lives of college students is rigorous preparation for final exams. These tests are a major part of your grade and contribute greatly to your GPA, meaning being sufficiently ready for them is crucially important. However, the weeks or days leading up to finals week dont have to be dreadful, there are ways to enjoy the process of preperation while also getting work done.
For example, study sessions with friends are a good way to have fun while accomplishing the goal of studying. Simply enjoying the company of friends, even if you're not engaging in conversation with them is a nice way to be more focused on studying. Additionally, friends can help with vocabulary review or assist you in studying while reading out flashcards. Regardless, studying simply in the presence of friends is a lot more enjoyable, and you can take breaks together as well, which might make the study session feel like its going by much quicker, thus making it a lot less tedious.
Creating a schedule is also extremely helpful, even though it might appear like extra work that isn't necessary to do. It is much easier to organize the many assignments and your time in a feasible way. Having a visual aid to spread out all of your responsibilities is a great way to reduce stress and feel more in control when there is a very overwhelming workload awaiting you. Whether it is a tangible calendar to put on the wall, or the calendar in your phone or computer, having this kind of laid out guide is incredibly beneficial and worthwhile.
The most helpful method of preparation is finding a specific place to study. Your environment is a major aspect to having a successful study session. Being in a quiet place with minimal distractions is the only way to truly understand and commit the material you are reviewing to memory. Avoiding the urge to go on social media, something that many students struggle with, is another highly important tip. It is normal and recommended to take breaks, otherwise you will become overwhelmed with the amount of information, which will only harm you instead of benefit you. However, instead of immediately going on social media when concluding a study session or taking a short pause between subjects, find something more calming and less overstimulating to occupy that frame of time.
There are many ways to have a productive and enjoyable study session, and each student is different, so a method that works very well for one individual may not work at all for another. Finals are a tough time for everyone, but it is imporant to adopt healthy habits that will not only help your grades but support your mental wellbeing. Even with all of the stress and the urge to do nothing but study in order to ensure the best grades possible, taking care of yourself is vital, otherwise those high scores won't feel nearly as rewarding or worth it. Getting a sufficient amount of sleep, staying hydrated, going on walks, and hanging out with friends is vitally important to ensure you don't become burnt-out from the effort of constantly reviewing academic material.
While this is definitely a difficult period of time, it will come and go like all previous exam seasons did. As long as you put in the effort and study the material without cramming at the last moment, it is highly likely your results will be more than satisfactory.
Good luck, and have a wonderful and restful holiday break, it is well deserved!
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